Chairman inherits financial mess at DCCC

The Fix: Democrats' defection from Pelosi is historic
How divided are Democrats' right now? With 19 Democrats withholding support from Nancy Pelosi for House Speaker on Wednesday, it represented the largest defection from a party's speaker nominee in nearly a century. The resistance in the Democratic Party to back now-former Speaker Pelosi (D-Calif.) in the ceremonial first vote of the 112th Congress registered higher than at any point since 1913, according to data from the Congressional Research Service. That year, which happens to be the las...

Congressman Paul Ryan:Nation Must See Stark Choice Between Ruin and Exceptionalism by 2012
Republican Congressman Paul Ryan in an interview with Paul Gigot at The National Press Club this week said Republicans must offer the country a clear choice by 2012 between Obama’s “Debt ruin” or “American Exceptionalism.” I don’t think anyone could have said it any better than Paul Ryan. Because this is so important it needs to be said again. Republicans must find a way to set before the nation by 2012 the stark choice between the path we are on - “Debt Ru

Washington Week
The Senate and the House convened the 112th Congress, passing and adopting mostly routine housekeeping measures and conducting leadership Elections. The Senate opened to a bit of acrimony when the two leaders differed on whether the Senate rules should be changed and how to go about these rules changes without trashing 200-plus years of Senate history. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., made an impassioned Speech about how the Senate Democrats have abused their power by how they have legislated over t...

Bill would allow immigrant high school graduates to apply for citizenship
One Democratic representative introduced Legislation on Friday that would begin President Barack Obama’s commitment to push forward with comprehensive Immigration Reform. San Bernardino County Democratic Rep. Joe Baca of Rialto introduced the People Resolved to Obtain an Understanding of Democracy Act, which would amend the Nationality Act to allow exemplary non-citizen High School graduates to apply for Citizenship. Under the PROUD Act, graduates would need to provide the necessary academ...

Housed
WASHINGTON—Rule One of politics: When you have the advantage, don't allow your opponents to turn the tables. House Republicans violated this rule when they decided to make Repeal of the Health Care law their first major act in the 112th Congress. The mistake will haunt them for years. It's a surprising error from a leadership that showed shrewd judgment and exceptional discipline during President Obama's first two years. John Boehner is now Speaker of the House because he and his party fo...

After wrangling, Constitution is read on House floor, minus passages on slavery
Finally the time had come to recite the Constitution aloud on the House floor. But first came the bickering over which parts of the nation's founding document to read at all. This Story The Take: The Take: John Boehner shows at the start that he is no Gingrich After wrangling, Constitution is read on House floor, minus passages on Slavery Shouts about Obama interrupt Constitution reading Special Report: The first days of the 112th Congress The 112th Congress convenes House GOP passes new rule...

Democrats Have Slight but Real Chance of Winning Back House in 2012
Having spent only one day as House minority leader, Nancy Pelosi is already talking about the quick potential return of the Democratic party to the majority. While winning the minimum 25 seats required to regain the majority would be difficult, looking at the historic record, it is possible. An examination of the past 30 congressional Elections going all the way back to 1952, the average net partisan change in seats from one Congress to the next was just over 19 seats. Almost a third of those ...

Frolic Into Boehnerland
… The Democrats have plenty of creatures like Boehner. But in the new Speaker of the House, the Republicans own the perfect archetype — the quintessential example of the kind of glad-handing, double-talking, K Street toady who has dominated the politics of both parties for decades. In sports, we talk about athletes who are the “total package,” and that term comes close to describing Boehner’s talent for perpetuating our corrupt and Debt-addled status quo: He’s...

Quinn tax hike in trouble
State Rep. Frank Mautino (D-Spring Valley) said Friday “I don’t think there are enough votes” for the tax-hike agreement Gov. Quinn struck with leading Democrats in the Legislature. SRINGFIELD — As the Illinois House returns to the Capitol Sunday, the Income Tax-hike agreement Gov. Quinn struck with the Legislature’s ruling Democrats faces serious questions with time running out. Top allies to House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) said Friday the “framewo...

Quinn tax hike in trouble
State Rep. Frank Mautino (D-Spring Valley) said Friday “I don’t think there are enough votes” for the tax-hike agreement Gov. Quinn struck with leading Democrats in the Legislature. SRINGFIELD — As the Illinois House returns to the Capitol Sunday, the Income Tax-hike agreement Gov. Quinn struck with the Legislature’s ruling Democrats faces serious questions with time running out. Top allies to House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) said Friday the “framewo...

A MajorityIf You Can Keep It
Get alerts when there is a new article that might interest you. The 112th House of Representatives, which convened for the first time last week, is in many respects a historic one. The Republican majority of 242 representatives is larger than any the party enjoyed from 1994 to 2006. Of course, the Republican Revolution of 1994 broke 40 years of Democratic control of the House, but even the GOP’s brief majority of 1952-54, built on Dwight Eisenhower’s coattails, reached just 221 seats...

Two watchdog groups call for investigation of GOP Reps over swearing-in debacle
The Republicans have effectively patched over the Constitutional error committed when two of their members failed to swear-in before casting votes.  However, two government Watchdog groups are calling for investigations into the background behind what is now being called “Oathgate.”  The Campaign Legal Center and Sunlight Foundations have both asked the Office of Congressional Ethics to look into the event that caused the absence of Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Pete Ses...

Some Guys Are NEVER Satisfied-Fashion Model Massager Hates His Job
Some Guys Are NEVER Satisfied-Fashion Model Massager Hates His Job, is my favorite of the Viral Footage videos in today's post. Most guys I know would take his job in a minute. Unfortunately its not a real job, its a commercial for an employment service, but nevertheless its a must see. Other great selections in today's crop of videos include Joe Biden Giving Dating Advice to Girls (not a parody), The poor Pakistani fellow who got beat up by his four wives because they objected to his 5th wedd...

No Negotiations on the Debt Limit
Here’s Paul Ryan talking about the Debt ceiling: But House Budget Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan says that tactic isn’t viable. “Just refusing to vote for it, I don’t think that’s really a strategy,” he said, noting that a failure to raise the ceiling could result in the nation defaulting on its debts to investors. “Will the Debt ceiling be raised? Does it have to be raised? Yes,” he said at an event sponsored by economics21 and the Manhattan Institute ...

A compromise on the debt ceiling and another promised-but-meaningless health care vote.
Don't-Tread-on-Meter: Jan. 7, 2011: 14 They wanted an "ObamaCare" Repeal vote, and they'll get an ObamaCare Repeal vote. On Friday, Republicans got the votes to start debating the Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act, for a vote next Wednesday. "They threw out a whole bunch of members of Congress in constitutional Fashion and replaced them with people who took the oath and the pledge to come here to Repeal 'Obamacare,' " explained Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa. "It's pretty simple." Republic...

You Are It, Meredith
The interview became even more outrageous as the NBC co-host peppered Congresswoman Bachmann with questions about the Debt ceiling. Conservatives have long complained that the liberal media likes to play games with truth, when reporting news about conservatives and their policies. On January 6th on NBC’s “Today Show,” those games were never more obvious than in the person of that deceptively sweet and innocent Meredith Vieira. The “Today Show” co-host introduced her guest, ...

DCCC chair: Our 2012 agenda will be making Pelosi Speaker again
The reknowned political satirist Tom Lehrer once declared that Henry Kissinger’s Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 made political satire redundant.  After reading about the DCCC’s new strategy to win back the House in 2012, I must admit that for the first time in my life I feel a bit of sympathy with the general sentiment.  Guess who Rep. Steve Israel, the DCCC chair, wants to make as his poster girl for 2012? House Democrats’ goal is to make Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) the Speaker of ...

2010 Set Campaign Spending Records
Even with its byzantine rules and dry legal terminology, Campaign Finance was a hot topic from the very start of 2010. In his January State of the Union address, President Obama criticized the Supreme Court's then days-old Citizens United v. FEC decision, which loosened Campaign Spending restrictions, even as the justices sat watching in front of him. "I believe [the decision] will open the floodgates for Special Interests . . . to spend without limit in our Elections," Obama said. &...

John Boehner shows at the start that he is no Gingrich
When Newt Gingrich took the gavel as House Speaker 16 years ago, he promised to transform America. On his first day Wednesday, new House Speaker John Boehner promised the Democratic minority more opportunities to amend Legislation. This Story The Take: The Take: John Boehner shows at the start that he is no Gingrich After wrangling, Constitution is read on House floor, minus passages on Slavery Shouts about Obama interrupt Constitution reading Special Report: The first days of the 112th Congr...

The Economy and 2012
Tea Partiers, William Daley and David Plouffe, birthers, John Boehner, Sarah Palin, "the professional left" -- all will play marginal roles in deciding who wins the next Presidential Election. But almost nothing is likely to be as decisive as a single number: the Unemployment Rate. And so today's signs of continued Economic Growth, while superficially encouraging, don't offer much consolation for Barack Obama: “It could take four to five more years for the Job Market to normalize fully,...

Democrats Ross and Boren Will Vote for Repeal
Get alerts when there is a new article that might interest you. Next week's Repeal vote is where the rubber will meet the road for the 13 House Democrats who voted against ObamaCare, as it's their chance to show whether they're really against the highly unpopular overhaul or not. Two of these 13 Democrats have already pledged to vote for repeal. Last night on Fox News, Rep. Dan Boren (D-Okla.) said of ObamaCare, “On balance this is a 2,000-page bill that’s gonna hurt our economy, it&...

Two GOP Lawmakers Apologize to House Colleagues for Missing Oath
Oops, sorry about that. Two GOP lawmakers are formally apologizing to their House colleagues for casting votes after missing the official oath of office during the opening of the 112th Congress earlier this week. In a letter distributed late Friday, Reps. Pete Sessions and Mike Fitzpatrick expressed regret for breaking House rules by voting after inadvertently skipping the swearing-in ceremony. Only a sworn member of Congress can take part in official business. "[W]e are deeply committed to ful...

GOP Congressmen Apologize For Missing Oath
Reps. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) and Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Penn.) have sent out a letter to their GOP colleagues apologizing for the procedural snafu they created by skipping the official swearing-in in favor of a questionable Fundraiser, and then casting some key votes anyways. "[W]e are deeply committed to fulfilling our role in our constitutional Democracy by maintaining the integrity of the People's House. Our absence on the House floor during the oath of office ceremony for the 112th Congress ...

Nancy Pelosi blames George W. Bush for midterm shellacking
Nancy Pelosi blames George W. Bush for midterm shellacking I wonder if the Democrats and Nancy Pelosi will blame George W. Bush when Obama gets shellacked in the 2012 Presidential Election too? I don’t have to wonder, I’m actually pretty sure she will, along with the reason of the Marxist Democrats and lame stream media. Oh, and I’m sure the Race Card will be played too. Yid with Lid posted the video of a recent CNN softball interview between John King and Nancy Pelosi. King ...

Obama foes target health overhaul in test vote
House Republicans have the votes to muscle the Repeal to passage in the lower chamber, and have underlined that they are keeping a core promise that helped power them to a romp over Democrats in November 2 Elections. "With 10 percent Unemployment and massive Debt, the American People want us to focus on cutting spending and growing our economy, and that is what repealing the Health Care law is all about," Republican House Speaker John Boehner told reporters Thursday. Polls show the US public is ...